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Fat kids on pony rides?

I went to a family park and was waiting in line at the pony rides with my dd. The woman in front of me also had happened to be in front of me buying the tickets. When each of us purchased our tickets, the girl behind the counter cheerfully mentioned that they had a weight limit of 100 pounds, and indicated a sign that also said this. I also had my son with me (he is 15 and obviously over the 100 pounds), so I assume this is why she mentioned the weight limit to me. The woman in front of me had her dd with her, and the girl was most definitely over 100 pounds.

When the woman in front of me pushed her dd towards the employee manning the pony ride station, the employee said, very nicely and quietly, "I'm sorry, we have a 100 pound weight limit." and declined to give her dd a ride. The woman instantly started to SCREAM to see the manager and made a huge stink, by the end of which her dd was in tears. ( I have to say there was also a sign hanging on the door into the pony ride area that stated the weight limit).

The manager came over and tried to get the woman to come aside and talk quietly, but the woman kept on yelling and wouldn't budge, so the manager had to talk to her in front of everyone. She told the mom that the weight limit was for the health of the kids working for her, not necessarily for the ponies, and that lifting more than 100 pound kids for even a short time was too much for minimum wage teenagers to handle. The ponies were all bigger than I have seen most pony ride ponies, and the workers DID have to lift the kids pretty high to get them on. The manager went on to say that heavier children also could not balance their weight when riding a pony, so it wasn't safe for them to ride, as they could easily fall off.

After fighting for a while, another manager came over (I'm assuming the REAL boss), and she took a huge pony out of the shed and brought it over. Insisting that the mom walk with them, the manager lifted the girl onto the pony and away they went. After about five seconds, the girl started to slip to the side, unable to balance her weight, just like the other manager had said. Her mother was unable to help her dd stay on and the girl fell off, knocking her mother to the ground and scaring the pony to death. The pony stepped on the manager as she jumped to help the mom and her dd, and all hell broke loose. It was mayhem for a few minutes, and took a bunch of people to help get everything straightened out. When it was over, the little girl's arm was broken and the mom was saying she was going to sue.

Why would a parent put their child in a situation like this where they are obviously not safe? I was so upset about it we had to leave the park.

That lady was a wretched woman. No regard for her daughters feelings or physical safety, no regard for the rules, no regard for the teen workers, no regard for the dang ponies. The management should not have caved to the ingrate; they actually opened themselves up to a lawsuit and the corporate office overseeing that pony ride would have had a coronary over this. I am so sick of the false sense of entitlement I see in society.

It almost seems as if the mother was hoping for something to occur not saying she wanted her daughter to have a broken arm but for something to happen so that she could sue for money. As you said it was obvious it wasn't safe but she insisted and also made a big stink about it as if to have witnesses for court. Hopefully her daughter being hurt will teach her that there are rules for a reason and that she made her daughter suffer for something stupid.

Were the horses bare back? Because I don't know why they would have any minors riding horses bare back. The manager should have stuck to his guns. That was stupid.

Answer by
Anonymous
at 1:42 PM on Aug. 11, 2011

I think the mother should have to carry the kid on her back for an hour or two,, you might want to call them and offer your name, in case she does try to sue,,,I am afraid she might have a case, because they chose to break the rules for her,, and even though she was being a bitch. they should have stood firm,, I wish you had a video to put on youtube of this,,LOL!

my kid is big.... to put it nicely..... and I just have to understand the somethings he cannot do, and I do not throw a fit about, the lady was rude and the manager should have called the cops and CPS should be notified because the manager said that she would not be able to balance her weight, and she fell and broke her arm!!! I want my son to be in elementary wrestling, but I know that there would be no one his age in his weight class and I didn't want him thown on the mat to wrestle a 6th grader because they are in the same weight class, because I know a 6th grader is more experienced then a 1st grader regardless of the weight. She should have worried more about her daughters saftey, espically when the manager said that bigger kids can not balance their weight as well.